Moon Living Abroad in Belize by Victoria Day-Wilson

Author:Victoria Day-Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avalon Travel
Published: 2012-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

Some business are successful, while some aren’t. Many people try a variety of things before they find a business that works for them. The trick is to try to identify an unfilled niche in the market, have a practical location, and pitch your prices right. Good luck!

STARTING A BUSINESS IN BELIZE

I moved to Belize in 2008 to start a new chapter in my life and build a family business. My mom and I moved to Corozal to open a bar. My parents had a dream to move to a tropical location, which they found in Belize after five years of looking. My dad could not move fulltime to Belize initially so they asked me if I would like to move to Belize with my mom and go into the business with them. I was unhappy with the path my life was taking at that point, so a full dive into this Belize adventure sounded perfect. We moved to Corozal from Oregon and I loved every moment of it. I went through a lot of changes in my life throughout this experience and Belize has been a big influence on that. It is a country full of natural beauty and the Belizeans are some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I have met. Our business –Scotty’s Bar and Grill –is currently operating in Corozal.

Going into the process of opening a business in Belize was completely foreign to us. We had lofty ambitions of getting everything set up and going within a few months. Amazingly enough we got it all ready to go within two months. From what I have experienced, Belize is a very easy country to move to and start a business as a foreigner.

Our first step in the process was to get a work permit –a legal requirement. We were misinformed of the specific rules on this when we purchased the business from the previous owner, an expat from Canada. This process was the most frustrating of all and should be the first thing you start to work on if you are planning on opening a business in Belize. The red tape was the worst here. I believe that is because the process involves various departments, and in our experience they do not always communicate well with each other. My best advice is to be proactive (be specific when asking what documents you need because this does change from time to time), and follow up often.

After the work permit there were a few other permits that we had to get to run a business. At City Hall we found out that we needed a trade license and a liquor license (because we planned to serve alcohol) for our restaurant and bar.

The trade license was probably the most simple for us to get. Once the surveyor decides the value of your property they charge you an annual fee. You receive a sticker that you put in a visible place in your business. This only took about two weeks. We

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